A persnickty approach to life sparked by chlorine intoxication, saddle sores, & the solitude of a long run

I Must Protect This House!

If you go too fast, you’ll miss everything as it flies right by you. If you go to slow, you’ll simply fall off.

But once you find the perfect rhythm, that’s when it all clicks.

The key is actually being able to find the proverbial sweet spot. For me, that tends to be easier said than done. I sometimes have to slow down, FALL OFF said bike, and crack my helmet in half before I realize I’m even in the neighborhood of unbalanced :shock:.

This year though, things are going to be different. This year is all about being proactive. I’m establishing some balance in this endorphin inducing lifestyle that has me believing I’m “winning” (ie….Charlie Sheen incase you’ve been under a rock) when in reality, I’m actually just another mile away from a therapy table. Yes, this year is am taking responsibility and doing whatever I can to protect my “house”.

How does one protect their house, you ask?

Well, for me it involves following the advice of PT/coach and enrolling in a yoga class. To boot, I’m doing it as training hits full stride, NOT putting it on the back-burner until the off-season. See, I’m already beginning to master those deep breathing techniques!

Confession Time…..I’m not really fond of yoga. I know, this comes as such a surprise.

I have such a difficult time being quiet (yes, ’tis true) and it’s just plain hard to be graceful when your shoe size is 11.5. I tend to be a poor listener and this issue is further compounded when I don’t excel at a given task. Now, I’ve been told it this is a control issue and is about me not wanting to be told WHAT to do or HOW to do it. I’m working on this, but regardless; I’m not a yoga master and I loathe following someone else’s commands. And then there is this…I tend to cuss like a sailor throughout the entire class because it’s so unbelievably freakin’ HARD! I can’t help it. I can’t stop it. The shit just flies out and I can’t get it back.

All this aside, I was told it would be really good for me. So, I shall unlace my sneakers, hang up the suit, rack the bike and head off for some yoga. At this moment, I’m desperately trying NOT to pull out the calendar and figure out when I can make up the ride I’ll be missing. I figure that would probably defeat the whole “balance” thing and create some sort bad energy, karma or something. Goodness knows I don’t want to start with a deficit.

So what can yoga do for all of our lovely (and expensive, if I may say) houses?

Well, it’s said to increase strength and flexibility; two issues I work on daily. Yoga also improves relaxation and relieves the effects of stress (stress, who me? BTW, have I told you about our house lately?). It also enhances focus and concentration and I’ll never turn down some extra mental fortitude. The strength-training exercises that yoga practitioners perform can also help to prevent joint injury and the relaxation exercises help to keep muscles long and supple (ie..fast legs but ones that still looking good in a bathing suit).

A lot of my rehab throughout 2010 involved various yoga poses aimed at strengthening my hips/pelvic girdle and improving my horrific balance. Hopefully my use of profanity will drop ten-fold thanks to this biomechanical work and stability rehab/training. I’m sure my instructor and future classmates will be appreciative as well.

I have 3 studios to go check out before the weekend. Chop-Chop, time’s a wasting! The goal is to be on the books and in a class by Monday. AquaDoc is having knee surgery this week, so yoga may also be in his future since he will be spending some time with PT/coach as he heals and gets ready to race this summer.

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2 thoughts on “I Must Protect This House!”

I love love love this post, because I wrote something very similar back in October/November. I dislike yoga SO MUCH. I have no patience for it, when I workout, I wanna be huffing & puffing, that’s what working out is!
Good for you to take the yoga challenge on! It inspires me to give some yoga a try, again, for the millionth time!

It’s so hard for us adrenaline junkies, but we know what’s good for us…we just have to do it!! Baby steps…my objective is to get in there once a week right now!! I need more hours in my day…don’t we all!! Let me know how you do…you can keep me honest!!